


Heat Heals

by SassySnowperson (DramaticEntrance)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sociological Discussions on the Cultural Nature of Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 16:09:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16579787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramaticEntrance/pseuds/SassySnowperson
Summary: It's been a miserable, cold slog through this swamp-riddled planet, and Luke's cough is getting worse...





	Heat Heals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [StaringAtTheTwinSuns](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaringAtTheTwinSuns/gifts).



* * *

Luke huddled in the back of the cave, shaky grip on his blaster, and tried not to cough. His chest burned with every breath, rasping illness settled deep in his lungs. Bacta would sort it. Or even a few solid hours in a Force-trance. But they hadn't had the luxury of either one for nearly a week, so all he could do was sit, cold and weary, and try not to cough.

A form appeared in the mouth of the cave, and Luke tightened his grip. The form shifted, deliberately silhouetting itself against the sky beyond, hands up.

Luke dropped the blaster with a sigh of relief, one that quickly turned into a wet cough, ripping painfully through him.

"Oh, man, that sounds worse." Finn sounded worried as he scrambled through the rocks to the back of the cave.

Luke nodded, not trusting himself to speak after he finally managed to stop coughing.

"I've got some good news. I was able to get the tightband communication through to the cruiser. They've got our location, should be able to get down here in twenty hours."

"And the bad news?" Luke whispered, having done this for too long.

"Ren's damn lackies are still on-planet. They haven't given up yet."

"Have…" Luke stifled another round of cough, keeping it to just the shaking of his shoulders, "...found our trail?"

"Come on, Luke, I'm better than that." Finn smiled. "No, and I don't think they will, as long as you can keep shielding us with the..." Finn wiggled his fingers.

Luke nodded, shoulders slumping. He could sleep and keep the shield running, but a full Force trance would break it. He'd have to live with the cough. It was going to be a miserable twenty hours.

Finn patted him on the shoulder. "Let me trap the entrance, then we can get some sleep. Make the time go by faster."

Luke reached for their scant packs, unrolling his bedroll, and tried not to feel like surviving the remote confrontation with his nephew and nemesis had been a terrible mistake. His reconnection with the Force made him a desirable target, enough so that the First Order's Force-sensitive hunters had pu a concentrated effort into sabatoging his flier, out of the dozen or so Resistance ships on this swamp-riddled backwater excuse of a planet.

He and his gunner for this trip, Rey's oftmentioned Finn, had gone down hard and alone, with the hunters dogging them.

They had survived, Luke reminded himself, thanks to their combined talents, and they would be rescued. So long as they could keep hiding and shielding long enough that the hunter's didn't find them. So long as this cough didn't fell him first.

Feeling cold, feeble, and sorry for himself, Luke had just tucked into the bedroll when Finn wandered to the back of the cave again. 

"Well," Finn said, giving a smile edged with something sharp. "Should be a nasty surprise for anyone who tries to bother us. Not that I think anyone will. I saw signs of them, but they were far off." 

"Still," Luke said, hoarse and weary, "I need to keep the shields up." 

"If you can. You doing alright, man?" 

They had fought their way through the first ambush easily, Luke's saber and Finn's blaster making short work of their attackers. Finn had grinned at Luke, looking triumphant. His joy was catching, Luke had been smiling right back. They got their bearings, and realized sheepishly it was going to be a long trek to ground where they could hail the cruiser, let their allies know they still lived. With a rueful head tilt and cheerful determination, they set off. 

The trouble hadn't come until five hours later, when a new group of attackers came out of nowhere, with a shot that would have drilled a hole through the center of Finn's head if Luke had been a little slower with his lightsaber. It was an ambush, and they fought their way free, the grins were more shaky, this time. They went to deeper ground this time, picking a careful path between rocks and trees, 

And then again, three hours after that, like all their care had counted for nothing. 

The only good thing about that hard-won fight was the moment Luke realized the buzz of power in the air was coming from the First Order hunters. They might have some way of tracking through the Force. It was the only thing Luke could think of that would explain the ambushes along their unplanned, meandering route. 

So Luke, using lessons learned all too well from his time as a hermit, pulled a shield down over their senses, removing himself and Finn from detection through the living Force. It wasn't a particular difficulty, Luke was able to keep them hidden as the slogged through the wilderness, forest giving way to swamp. 

As time went on, though, it soon became clear that the effort was costing him. This wasn't a sprint of power use, it was a marathon, and it tapped away at his reserves. The weakness had set in four days ago, the cough started a day after that. It had only gotten worse, from there. 

"Well as can be expected," Luke said, hoarsely and promptly started coughing again. 

Finn knelt beside him, his hand warm against the back of Luke's head as Luke was helpless to stop his hacking. "Yeah, I don't like that," Finn said, in a decided understatement.

"Me either," Luke rasped, when the coughing finally died down. "Be fine once...back to ship. Can hold"—Luke went silent, short shallow breaths until the urge to cough had passed—"shield until then." 

"That's good, but we've got to do something about that cough." 

_Let me know if you find a first aid kit._ Luke thought but did not say, just giving Finn a rueful look. 

"Right, okay buddy, shove over." Finn said, and started to climb into Luke's bedroll. 

Luke squeaked. He blamed the chest cold for that undignified noise. 

Finn rolled his eyes and nudged at Luke's shoulder. Luke let himself be guided, confused enough (and sufficiently exhausted) that he didn't fight the movement. Finn settled his hands around Luke's chest. 

"What is happening?" Luke whispered. 

"Heat heals," Finn said, simply, cuddling closer to Luke. He pulled Luke closer and Luke tensed, fighting the hold. Finn sighed, his thumb smoothing over Luke's collarbone. "Is this going to be an issue? You don't like being touched?"

Oh, that was not the issue. That was not even remotely close to the issue. The _issue_ was that Finn, heroic, strong, friendly, _you would have to be blind to not notice he was handsome_ Finn was holding Luke close and Luke's body, who was still making up a years-long touch deprivation debt, was joyfully overreacting, relaxing into the hold with a glee that his mind did not feel. 

And yet, the bedroll heated up, and as Luke took a breath to respond, for the first time in days he inhaled without pain. "It's fine," he finally whispered. "It is working."

"Good," Finn said, and settled closer. "So why does this freak you out so much?" 

"It doesn't—"

"You squeaked." 

"I wasn't expecting it," Luke grumbled. "Young men don't normally come climbing into my bedroll. Can't help but feel like a dirty old man." 

"I'm pretty dirty too. We've been hiking for days. I don't love it either, but sometimes you just have to stop being so fastidious." 

"No, that's not...it's just a saying." 

Finn sighed, "One of these days you people will stop using phrases I don't understand, but clearly today is not that day. Alright. Go ahead and unpack this one for me." 

Luke made a face, tried not to think too hard about the warm curve of Finn along his back, before saying as clinically as he could, "It indicates an older man who has an inappropriate interest in younger people." 

"Huh." Finn shrugged, the gesture causing him to wiggle strangely around Luke. "Well, that doesn't apply here, there's nothing inappropriate about you."

Luke could have let that go. But he had never done a great job of letting people be wrong when he could easily correct them. "The age is the inappropriate thing." 

"Still not tracking. Age is an important consideration?"

"It's...generally assumed that young adulthood is the most attractive age," Luke said, regretting every word he had uttered that lead to him needing to explain this. "As people get older they should seek partners that are...equivalent. However some people continue to prefer individuals who are young adults." 

"Wait." Finn sounded startled. "You're telling me that between the two of us you think _I'm_ the more attractive partner?" 

"...Yes?" 

"That's dumb. Why would you - ? Man, you folks have a lot of good ideas, but sometimes you just make no sense. If anyone's fucking above their rank in this situation, it's me." 

_"Excuse me."_

"It's just a _saying_ Luke." Finn said, not helping his point by nudging his nose against Luke's shoulder. "But! That's not the important thing! You're powerful, you can do things nobody else can do, if you gave orders there are legions that would jump to follow them—" 

Luke protested, "That's not a good basis for—" 

"And more than that, you use it well," Finn continued, unabashed. "You use it with consideration for others. You're powerful _and compassionate._ Why would I care about age, compared to that? I don't even know how old I am." 

Luke's heart broke at that atrocity, tiny compared to all the rest, but still there. Nevertheless, he felt compelled to mutter, "You're definitely younger than me."

"Oh look at that, we have a smart one." Finn chuckled, wiggling Luke into a tighter hold, his hand shifting to pat Luke's jaw. 

Luke stiffened, a slow realization creeping in. "Are you _flirting?_ " 

"A really smart one," Finn's fingers stopped patting, started stroking gently along Luke's jaw instead. "I mean, I just found out I actually have a chance, it'd be pretty dumb of me not to take it." 

"Finn, I'm..." Luke grabbed at the ragged remainders of his self-control. "This isn't the time."

"I don't know," Finn said, his hand settling nonetheless. "Cuddled up together with twenty hours to burn...seems like a pretty good time to me." 

"Finn," Luke warned. 

He wished he could be a little more certain what exactly he was warning against. 

"Alright, alright. Stop worrying. I'll be good."

Luke was not disappointed to hear that, at all. 

Finn's hand shifted again, starting to comb through Luke's hair. "You should sleep, Luke. Help will be here soon. I'll keep you warm until then." 

That was the first sensible thing Finn had said all night. Luke tried to sort through the rest of it, gave up, and decided to let sleep take him. This might make more sense in the morning. 

Finn said quietly, as Luke started to doze, "But I feel like I should probably warn you, I think you're gorgeous. And if you're going to insist on being completely backward about your interest, well…If it means I've got a shot..." Finn's nose nuzzled against Luke's neck, parting his hair. Warm lips brushed the top of his spine in a firm kiss. 

Something electric snaked along Luke's skin, he shivered in Finn's hold. The lips lingered a moment longer, then withdrew. 

"I'm taking it," Finn concluded, sounding a little breathless himself. "Sleep well, Luke. We'll talk in the morning." 

Luke was still sick, and confused, and half-convinced this was all a fever dream. But, on the off-chance that this kind, good, and undeniably attractive young man was honestly interested in Luke…

For all that Luke readily threw himself into self-sacrifice, he had never been particularly good at self-denial. He wouldn't be saying no. 

It had been a long time since Luke had felt wanted. A long time since Luke wanted in return. This…this was nice. 

Luke was smiling as he finally drifted off to sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> It just makes sense to me that Finn's training would cause him to look at the world very differently...
> 
> It's going to be an interesting morning :D


End file.
